The rain changed to snow at 4 pm Thursday. I
had spent all day inside doing paperwork, looking through the
window now and then, and waiting for the rain to end. When it
did, I put my skis on, and went out for a spin.
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MATHER |
Most of the time, when we have heavy rain
like we had last week, it wrecks winter trails. The snow melts
from above, and the lightly packed surface gives way and
collapses. This didn't happen here on Thursday. That's because
we have been working on the trails since the second snowfall in
December.
You never know with the first snowfall if it
is going to stay or not. Usually it is not that much snow
anyway, and it is a good idea to have some depth before taking
the snowmachine out to pack it down. Packing the trail after
the early snowfalls is really important - especially in a
winter like the one we have this year.
This year, the snow came before the ground
got a good hard freeze. The snow has been lying like a warm
blanket on the ground for a month now. All the little creatures
of the soil must be happy. With the deep snow, there is not
much frost in the ground.
However, this soft ground can be a problem
for those of us who depend on winter trails. Every time we get
a warm spell, the mushy areas get soft. Where little streams
run nearby, the snow melts totally away.
If the trail had not been packed each time
the snow fell, these wet areas could have melted the trail
away. When the trail is regularly packed, the snow loses its
insulating qualities, and the ground can freeze right through.
This is important.
Despite just coming through the second major
thaw of the winter, the weather has been cold. Sometimes really
cold. With our well-packed trails, that cold managed to stay in
the ground where the trails run, and the rain did little
damage.
I skied up and up the hill behind the cabin,
and looked back down, across the meadow, over the forest. Light
snowflakes fell on the trees and caught on the little twigs of
the birches, still wet with the day's rain. Snowflakes caught
on my coat, on my eyelashes, and on the trail at my feet.
Thank
goodness the temperature was dropping. Skiing
on wet snow is slow and draggy.
The temperature dropped so suddenly that
night, it held the promise of great bushwhacking over the
weekend. Here's hoping you have a chance to get out on skis or
snowshoes and enjoy it.
Viki Mather likes by a lake near Sudbury.
